Missing
by csiAngel
Summary: Catherine is late picking Lindsey up from school...Please Note: Rating increased to M for chapter 5! Chapter 7 up now!
1. Chapter One

Title: Missing

Rating: PG, at least for now

Disclaimer: Unfortunately all my attempts to acquire the rights to CSI have failed. It still belongs to TPTB and the wonderful actors who portray these characters. And, perhaps that is a good thing. Too much responsibility for me.

Chapter One

Catherine pulled her car into the school car park, hopped down from the driver's seat and jogged up the path into the building.

It made a change to see the halls so deserted. The last few times she had been here it had been the middle of the school day and she had been meeting with the Principal to discuss Lindsey's disruptive behaviour. Now, the corridors were silent, except for what sounded like band practice coming from a nearby room.

She stepped into the reception area of the school office and stopped short when there was no-one there.

She fought back the instant panic that flared in her mind and heart, telling herself not to over-react. She rang the bell on the desk, and the receptionist appeared from the back room.

"Ms Willows," the young woman smiled. "What can I do for you?"

Catherine forced a smile, despite her increasing feeling that something was very wrong. "Is Lindsey here?" she asked, as calmly as she could.

The receptionist frowned. "No... As far I as I know she left with the rest of her class half an hour ago." Seeing the look of horror sweep Catherine's eyes, she quickly added. "I can check with her teacher for you."

"No... She did leave half an hour ago, but I was held up at work, and I called her and told her to come and wait in here for me..." Catherine explained, her mind not really focussing on what she was saying though, it was more occupied running through where she could be and the million things that could have happened to her. "Has she not been in at all?" she asked quickly.

The woman shook her head, her face starting to also display worry. "I'm sorry. No-one's been in, until you arrived."

Catherine snatched her cell phone out of her pocket. "I'll call her. Maybe she's gone to a different room," she muttered, willing that to be the case.

Her heart pounding loudly in her chest, she paced impatiently as her speed dial slowly went through each number. The pauses between tones seeming to get longer each time until, finally, it started to ring.

She closed her eyes as she listened to the repetitive rhythm, seconds passing like hours when no answer was received.

Her stomach turned when the call suddenly went dead.

The receptionist had called for the Principal whilst Catherine was attempting to phone Lindsey, and now both women ran towards Catherine when her face rapidly turned white and she swayed in her standing. They sat her down on a chair as she frantically dialled Lindsey's number again.

"Damn it!" she exclaimed, sweeping out of the seat as she snapped her phone shut.

"Ms Willows," the Principal tried softly. "You need to try to calm down. If we think this through we can probably figure out where Lindsey went. Is there a friend she may have gone home with?"

Catherine shook her head adamantly. "She would have told me... And she wouldn't have cut off my first call and then switched her phone off... I've got to – " She stopped when her cell phone rang. Without checking the caller ID, she flipped it open and shoved it to her ear. "Lindsey?" she said hopefully.

She could hear the frown in the caller's voice. "No. Cath, are you okay? Where are you?"

"Gil, get Brass and some uniform and get over to Lindsey's school."

She could hear him gathering his things as he continued to talk to her. "What's happened?"

"Lindsey's missing, Gil. She was supposed to wait here for me, but she's not here."

"Well, maybe she started walking home – "

"She hasn't started walking home!" she practically yelled down the phone. "She would have told me, and she wouldn't be ignoring my attempts to contact her..." Her voice went quiet as she continued. "I know it seems like I'm over-reacting, but trust me. She's my baby girl, Gil, I know something's happened to her. I can feel it."

TBC...


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews and words of encouragement. To show my gratitude, here's chapter two:

Chapter Two

Living closer to Lindsey's school than Grissom did, Brass arrived first. He had been trying for ten minutes to get Catherine to calm down and tell him exactly what had happened, but she was still frantically calling each one of Lindsey's friends whose numbers she had. Without information on what had actually happened, the detective didn't really have anywhere to start. Some police officers had arrived a couple of minutes after he did, and he had sent them to scour the school property for any sign of Lindsey, apart from that, there wasn't much he could do.

When Catherine's latest call ended, he tried once again to get through to her.

"Catherine, you need to tell me everything... The sooner we get the facts laid out, the sooner I can start a proper investigation," he said, calmly, knowing he was telling her something she already knew, but also knowing that she was operating in parent mode at the moment, not CSI mode.

"I haven't got time to sit down and talk to you, Jim... She's out there somewhere and I need to find her. I need to – "

"You need to tell Jim what happened," Grissom said from the doorway.

Catherine turned to him, her eyes fierce and ready to burn into him. "I need to find her!" she ground out through clenched teeth.

Grissom ignored her anger, understanding where it was coming from, and walked towards her. "Cath, you know how this works... You can't be involved in the investigation... You need to co-operate as the mother of a missing child."

She opened her mouth to lay into him but he didn't let her even begin. "Please? You wanted Brass involved... Let him do his job... There are police officers out there looking for her, and the rest of the team are on their way... Give Jim the information he needs. Then we can all start looking for her."

Her eyes softened with waiting tears that, he could tell from the determined look on her face, she was refusing to let fall. "I need to find her," she repeated, this time so softly that he barely heard her shaking voice.

Grissom nodded. "And we will... Now talk to Jim... I'm gonna go talk to the band kids."

She took a deep breath and nodded to him. She had seen so many distraught parents, in such a state that they couldn't give the police any useful information; so many times she'd had to try and get anything she could out of them just to give their investigation somewhere to start; and here she was, acting exactly like they did.

She turned to Brass. "I'm sorry."

Brass smiled sympathetically. "Doesn't matter."

She sat down on a nearby chair, so Brass did the same, his notebook in hand, ready to take down the details of a case he had hoped never to have to be on.

"I was supposed to pick Lindsey up at three-thirty," Catherine began, "from just outside the school, but I'd been working overtime on that shooting. I would have been on time, but when I got to my car, I had a flat tyre. I called Lindsey and asked her to go back inside and wait in the office, and told her I'd be there as soon as I could."

"How did she react?" Brass asked, now firmly in detective mode.

Catherine looked at him, surprised by the question. She hadn't considered that her relationship with her daughter was going to come under scrutiny during the investigation, and, until now, it hadn't occurred to her that Lindsey's recent behaviour could have anything to do with her disappearance. As such, there was a slight hesitation before her answer. "Er... She was fine about it... I explained what happened, and she said it was fine, she'd wait inside until I got here."

"Did she sound like she meant it?"

Catherine frowned, but nodded. "Yeah... We have had our problems since Eddie died, but we've been working on it, and things had started to get better... So, yeah, she sounded like she meant it. I've heard a lot of her sarcastic tone this last year, and that wasn't it."

Brass nodded and added to his notes. "Okay, so what time did you arrive?"

"About four. I had to change the tyre, and then I was covered in grease so I went back inside to clean up. Then the traffic on the way here was awful... It's like the cosmos was conspiring against – " She stopped talking suddenly, her eyes growing wide.

Brass frowned. "What is it?"

"My tyre... It looked like it had been slashed... Oh my God, someone did this on purpose... We've gotta get the security footage from the car park," she said standing and heading in the direction of the door.

"Whoa!" Brass followed her, gently taking her arm to stop her. "We don't know that – "

"It's a bit coincidental, Jim."

"I know, so I'll get Warrick on it... You can't be handling evidence Catherine," he said sternly.

She sighed frustratedly. "I know... I just feel so helpless!"

"Stay with Grissom... You can observe, but you can't touch."

Catherine gave a small smile and nodded. "Thank you... I app – "

This time she stopped because her cell phone rang. Her eyes widened and her stomach lurched with anticipation. Looking at the display, a small sob escaped her lips, when it read "Lindsey".

Flinging the phone to her ear, she answered quickly. "Lindsey?"

There was silence on the other end.

"Baby, are you okay?" she asked, desperately.

Still there was no response.

She listened carefully to try to hear anything, to see if maybe Lindsey had managed to make the call to let her hear what was going on, but there was no sound except for what sounded like cars going past in the background.

There were a few more seconds of silence, then an electronically distorted voice spoke, making Catherine jump.

"Doesn't give you much to go off, does it?" the voice said, in such a way that an image of the evil smile that accompanied it leapt into Catherine's reeling head.

"Who are you?" Catherine practically growled, trying not to do the emotional reaction, and try to get some useful information.

There was a short laugh, and then the voice said, "Ah, very good. Try to get the kidnapper to tell you who he is. So, your next question will be 'What do you want?'... oh, or maybe, 'Where are you?'. Like I'm gonna answer those. But you were trained well."

When her caller fell silent, Catherine said, more quietly, "Why Lindsey?"

"Ah... Can't get an answer for the who, how or the where, so go for the why. Good move... I'll answer that one... To make you suffer."

Catherine's heart thudded, she had feared that it was an enemy she or Eddie had made that was responsible for this. "Then take me..."

Grissom frowned questioningly at Brass when he walked into the room to hear what Catherine was saying. Brass just indicated for him to wait, and continued to listen to Catherine's side of the conversation, and what he could occasionally hear of what the caller was saying.

"... Let Lindsey go, and take me..." Catherine had continued. "Then you can make me suffer as much as you want."

There was another laugh. "I think not."

"Why not? It's me you want to hurt – "

"Yes, but not with pain that you would willingly suffer... Goodbye Catherine. There will be no more phone calls. There will be no demand for ransom... There will simply be your suffering."

With that the caller hung up. Catherine instantly phoned back, but the phone was once again switched off. An angry sobbed racked through her body and Grissom was at her side immediately to catch her as she crumbled.

Supporting her body against his, and gently stroking her hair as she cried, Grissom looked to Brass, silently asking if he could shed any light on what had been said to her. Brass shook his head slowly and apologetically. He hadn't been able to hear the other side of the conversation at all towards the end, as Catherine had been pacing in agitation.

Grissom's own fear multiplied and he wrapped his arms more tightly around Catherine, closing his eyes and praying that when Catherine felt up to telling them, there would be something in the phone call that would help them. But, he knew from the way this determined level three crime scene investigator and mother had collapsed devoid of hope, that it wasn't likely.

TBC...


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Grissom carefully laid a blanket over Catherine's sleeping form and silently slid out of the room. She would kill him for allowing her to fall asleep, but crying had drained all of her energy, and it would do her no good to keep herself awake. He was prepared to deal with the aftermath of not waking her when she cried herself to sleep against his shoulder.

Closing the office door behind him so she wouldn't be disturbed, he made his way to the break room, where he had asked the rest of the team to meet him to go over what they had found so far.

Brass, Warrick, Nick and Greg were already seated around the table, the expression on each man's face as sombre as the one next to him.

Grissom sat down in the seat they had left for him, at the head of the table, as always, and began. "Catherine's asleep in my office. She's not to be disturbed unless something major happens – and by that, I mean, we find Lindsey."

The others regarded him with uncertainty, knowing that Catherine would not be impressed with being kept out of this.

"I've made the decision… I'll deal with her reaction… Right now she needs to sleep, she's been awake over twenty-four hours already," he explained, receiving nods of agreement from his team. "Sara has had to go out to a scene, Nick, you'll take over talking to Lindsey's classmates. She's left a list of the ones she hasn't yet spoken to… So, as soon as this briefing is over, you can go home. You're going to have to work during the day, and you need to be well-rested."

Nick looked poised to argue, but Grissom didn't give him chance. "I know you want to help, and you will be doing, but you're no use to anyone if you're exhausted. You'll have to work straight through into tomorrow's shift, so get some more sleep tonight…. Understood?"

Nick nodded, and offered a small smile so Grissom would know he really did understand.

"So, what do we know?… Warrick?" Grissom asked.

Warrick had been assigned to study the security footage from the lab car park. He shifted slightly in his chair, leaning his elbows forward to rest against the table. "The cameras do show that somebody was near Cath's car, and it is possible that they slashed the tyre. However, from the positioning of both the person and the cars around Cath's, it is not possible to get a clear view of the perpetrator. He, or she, keep their back to the cameras, and head down whenever necessary… I'd say, they knew where the cameras were."

"Well, they aren't hidden from view, anyone who's been there could see where they are," Greg commented.

"Yeah," Warrick agreed with a nod, "But from the way he, or she, managed to not be seen clearly at all, I'd say they'd studied the location of those cameras in detail… I'm checking through the last few weeks for any sign of someone scouting the area."

Grissom nodded and turned to Nick.

"They were pretty careful about leaving prints too," the young Texan began. "There's nothing on the original tyre, except Cath's from when she changed it. And I even checked the car to see if they leaned on it as they stood up – apparently Cath did, but nobody else… I got a few prints off other parts of the car, the door handle, and wing mirror, for example, but after liasing with Warrick, I found that the security footage shows they didn't go near the rest of the car, so I'm not holding out much hope… The prints are with Jacqui at the moment."

Grissom sat quietly as he absorbed the information. "Okay… So that's Cath's side… What about the school?… None of the band members could tell me anything… How did the two of you get on?" he asked, looking at Brass and Greg.

Brass began. "Several officers scoured the grounds and surrounding area for anything belonging to Lindsey… They found a few items – a hair clip, a small purse, and a sports shoe - however Catherine said that none of them are Lindsey's. Apart from litter, they didn't find anything else."

"The school has security cameras outside," Greg continued the explanation. "Lindsey leaves the school building just before three thirty, with some other students. They walk to the bottom of the steps, Lindsey seems to look around, and then she takes her phone out of her bag… She doesn't dial a number, so it looks like it was ringing… This fits with Catherine saying she called her… The call ends, Lindsey waves to her friends and turns in the direction of the school. She looks like she is about to go back in, when she turns round suddenly, and moves towards the road – out of view of the cameras."

"As if someone shouted to her?" Warrick asked.

Greg nods. "Looks that way… Hopefully some of Lindsey's friends will have seen who it was."

They all turned to Grissom, who had begun sifting through the notes that Sara had given to him. "Sara managed to speak to twelve of Lindsey's classmates," he reported. "Three of them said that they don't remember seeing Lindsey after their class left the classroom. Another four said they know that Lindsey was behind them as they left the building, but, because of that, they didn't see where she went once they got outside. Two remember running past Lindsey on their way to their parents' cars – at the time, she was on the school steps, talking to some other children. The other three, apparently, were amongst the children Lindsey was talking to, but only one of them was still there when she received the phone call from Catherine. He said that Lindsey told him her Mom was going to be late, he said he thought his Dad could probably give her a lift home, but Lindsey declined, and said her Mom had said she would be there as soon as possible. He then left her, and as far as he knew, she was going to go back inside. According to him, there were four other children with Lindsey when he left – three girls, and one boy. They weren't home when Sara went to talk to them…" He looked up from the notes, "Nick, the school are going to arrange for the children and their parents to be available for you to talk to them at the school first thing tomorrow morning… Get there for eight thirty… Talk to those four first. The names are in Sara's notes."

Nick nodded, and took the file of Sara's notes that Grissom held out to him, and the group fell into silence; each of them thinking the same thing, but none of them wanting to say it.

Eventually Grissom said: "We will find something… We will find Lindsey."

"You'd find her a hell of a lot quicker if you weren't sitting around in here!"

All heads turned at the exclamation that came from Catherine, who was standing in the doorway. Seeing the rage burning in her tear-stained cheeks, the younger members of the team subconsciously glanced nervously at Grissom.

With a flick of his head the supervisor indicated for them to leave, then he turned his attention to Catherine, who was now leaning tensely on the opposite end of the table.

"I was supposed to be kept informed! What the hell is going on?" she yelled, her anger focussed on Grissom, as he had known it would be – for it was he who had let her sleep.

The others filed out of the room, their hearts breaking that they could not relieve the pain she was feeling.

"You should have woken me up!" she demanded.

"You were tired," he replied, simply and calmly.

"I told you I wasn't! I told you I didn't want to sleep in case something happened!"

"I would have woken you if anything did happen… Catherine wearing yourself into the ground isn't going to help find Lindsey, and it won't help you take care of her when we do… You needed to sleep."

"How can I sleep! My daughter is out there somewhere! I have no right to sleep!"

Her voice cracked at the end of her statement, and she stood back from the table as the arms that supported her trembled.

"This isn't your fault, Catherine," Grissom said, firmly.

She snorted in response and began to pace. "I'm her mother, Gil, I'm supposed to protect her… I should have been there when she finished school. She should have been my priority. I should have dropped everything to make sure I was on time. I should have been there. I should have been there…" Her repetition was barely audible as a sob tore through her words, and she dropped onto the nearest chair.

Grissom had been already on his way to her, so was instantly by her side. He knelt before her and, placing one hand on her neck, and his other arm around her waist, he pulled her into his embrace, tucking her head securely against his shoulder.

After a few minutes, the shaking of her body subsided, and he heard her small voice again.

"We haven't got anything have we?" she asked, without lifting her head up.

He felt her take a trembling breath, and tightened his hold on her, closing his eyes against the stinging he felt behind them.

"No, honey, we don't have anything yet… But we'll find something. I promise."

She pulled her head back and his opening eyes met hers. "You can't promise that," she stated, sadly, but her eyes showed that she appreciated what he was trying to do.

He stared into those eyes so full of fear, pain and helplessness, and his heart ached to make it all go away. "No, I can't," he said. "I wish I could."

She nodded, and the fresh set of tears streaming down her cheeks were reflected on his. She moved back into his arms, clinging to him as though her life would end if she let go. "What do I do, Gil?" she cried. "I have no idea where to start looking for her."

He returned her tight embrace and pressed his quivering lips against her temple. "We'll find her… Somebody will know something… We'll find her," he whispered, praying that it was true.

TBC…


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Sara walked into the bathroom, her steps slowing when she found Catherine leaning over one of the sinks. The older woman's body was hunched over, her hands, resting along the back of the basin, supporting it – and, from the way it trembled, it was apparent she was crying. Not wanting to startle her by speaking – in case Catherine hadn't heard her come in – Sara made sure that her final two steps shuffled on the floor before she came to a standstill.

Hearing this, Catherine stood up straight, her back to Sara whilst she wiped her eyes, then she turned round.

"Oh… Sara, hey," she said, quietly, her forced smile falling when she realised she was with someone she didn't have to pretend to.

Sara offered a small sympathetic smile, and stepped closer to Catherine. "Hey… I'd ask how you're doing, but… you're probably sick of hearing that."

Catherine nodded absently and leaned against the sink. "I – " she stopped without saying anything else, her head falling forwards. After several deep inhalations - failed attempts to curb her need to cry – she raised a despairing face to Sara; her eyes almost pleading for help.

The younger CSI hesitated a little, not really sure what to say – people not being her strong point. "The.. er… The guys are working on it… I'm sure they'll find something soon. The friends she was with outside of school might have seen… something."

"If there was anything to see," Catherine muttered quietly. A few seconds later, she moved. "I should be doing something," she growled through gritted teeth, slamming her hands against the basin in agitation as she pushed away from it.

"Like what?" Sara asked calmly.

Catherine's head shot round to face her, her eyes hard and glaring, wide with shock.

"Everything that can be done is being done, Catherine… It is difficult, and frustrating, but, logically, there is nothing you can do… You've worked on missing children cases before… You're in the same position as all of those parents. You've got to let the police do their job."

Catherine's look crumpled. "She's my baby girl, Sara…"

"I know," Sara said, softly now, taking another supportive step towards her. "But you know there isn't anything you can do… You should go home…"

Catherine shook her head as adamantly as her depleted energy would allow her to. "I can't… I can't face being there, without her… If I'm here, then… I don't know, it's - … If I go home, she won't be there… And it just makes it all more… real." The last word came out on a whimper, preceding more sobs and tears.

Sara closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around Catherine's shoulders. "It is real, Cath… I know you don't want to face it, but you need to… for Lindsey's sake… When you get her back, she is going to need for you to remember this feeling, but not dwell on it… She will need you to learn from this, and to use it to help her."

Catherine pulled back. "But what if I don't get her – "

"You will," Sara interrupted, fixing her with an assuring look that told her to think positively.

Catherine nodded. "Thanks, Sara."

Sara gave her a small smile. "No problem."

Catherine stood up straight, and took a deep breath. "I need to be stronger than this," she told herself quietly, then she smiled in thanks to Sara and left the bathroom.

-----

As Grissom turned the corner into the corridor that housed the bathrooms, he spotted Catherine up ahead of him. Calling to her, he felt his heart break a little more when her tear-stained face turned to meet him.

"Hey," she said, quietly.

"I thought you were with Archie," he said, equally softly.

Her head tilted in the direction she had been heading. "Was just on my way."

Grissom nodded. "You don't – "

"Yes I do," she interrupted him. "I need to be helping… I can't just sit back and do nothing."

"You wouldn't be doing nothing. You'd be taking care of yourself so that you'll be ready to take care of Lindsey when we get her back."

"I'm not going home, Gil…"

He nodded again, understanding her reasons for not wanting to go home, without her having to explain. "Okay… Go and see Archie; look over the footage again; then, when you're done, find me and you can come home with me."

Her eyes widened a little, then she smiled gratefully. "Thank you," she said, her voice barely audible.

"No need," he shrugged. "We can go whenever you need to."

Catherine nodded, and smiled appreciatively, before resuming her route to the AV lab.

Grissom watched her walk away, and his determination flared once more. They had to find Lindsey.

He was startled from his thoughts by Sara's voice from behind him.

"She's not doing very well, is she?" the woman asked.

Grissom turned to look at her, shaking his head slowly. "No, she isn't."

"I always thought she was the strong one…"

"No amount of strength can prepare you for this," he stated, his eyes returning, pensively, to where Catherine had walked along the corridor.

Sara shook her own head. "I guess not…" she said quietly, her eyes following his.

After a short silence, Grissom brought his thoughts back to the present, and turned to Sara. "Listen, Sara, I need to keep as many people on this as possible, so I'm gonna need you to be on call for other cases," he said.

When she didn't take him on, he added, "Sara?"

She snapped round to face him, nodding. "Yeah, that's fine… I'll be on call."

Grissom smiled. "Thanks… I'll see you later."

-----

Grissom stopped his car outside his townhouse and turned in his seat to look at Catherine.

She had drifted into sleep about five minutes after they left the lab, lulled by the scenery that she was watching pass by the vehicle.

Part of him didn't want to wake her up. They had remained at the lab longer than he had wanted her to, whilst she trailed every second of the security footage from both the car park and the school, only to, reluctantly, come to the same conclusion that Warrick and Greg had come to. There was nothing on either tape to give any indication as to who had taken Lindsey. It was looking like the only hope was Lindsey's other school friends, and they would have to wait until morning to hear if any of them saw anything.

He watched her for a few seconds longer, analysing the pros and cons of waking her. Obviously she would be much better off sleeping indoors, in a bed, rather than in his car; but she didn't want to be asleep, and if he woke her, there was a chance she wouldn't be able to settle down again, and she needed the rest.

He was just contemplating his chances of carrying her into the house without disturbing her slumber, when she started to mumble in her sleep. Her breathing was getting faster and deeper, and sweat was starting to break out at her temples.

Immediately concerned, Grissom leapt out of the car and ran round to her side, opening the door and positioning himself beside her, facing her. He gently shook her shoulder, whispering her name at progressively louder volumes until she jerked awake, tears instantly bursting from her eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her until her sobs subsided and she pulled back from him.

"I was hoping it was all a dream," she confessed quietly.

There was no comforting way to respond to that with words. He raised one hand and brushed the matted hair away from her tear soaked cheeks, letting his hand linger on her skin, gently erasing the tear tracks. "Let's go inside," he whispered.

She nodded, so he stepped back, out of the car, and took her hand as she followed him.

He quickly locked the car and unlocked the house, and indicated for Catherine to go in ahead of him while he secured the door after them.

She had drifted slowly up the path to the house, and hadn't said a word to him at all since getting out of the car, and now, he walked the few steps into his living room to find that she had already curled up on the sofa, asleep – which made him wonder if she had actually been fully awake at all.

Not wanting to disturb her again, he draped a blanket over her body, and sat down in a chair at his table, from where he could keep a watchful eye over her, in case the nightmares started again – or in case she woke up, returning to the nightmare they were living.

TBC…


	5. Chapter Five

Rating: up to CSI-3/M for strong language

Chapter Five

It was Grissom's cell phone that rang first, and startled Catherine from her sleep. He cursed himself for not having the forethought to switch the ring tone off, and answered the call as quickly as he could, disappearing into his bedroom to give her peace to return to sleep.

However, Catherine didn't want to sleep anymore. She stood up and stretched the muscles that had been curled into the tight ball in which she had slept for the last few hours. She shook her legs a little to wake them up, but her outstretched arms fell heavily against her side, when she realised that no amount of stretching them was making them feel any less tense.

Her lips began to tremble once more, and she took a deep shaky breath, and headed into the kitchen in search of something to occupy the part of her mind that was screaming that she wasn't doing enough to find Lindsey.

She had just opened the door of the fridge, when her own cell phone called to her from her bag beside the sofa. Although she knew it was crazy to get her hopes up, her heart still skipped every time her phone rang, and now was no different.

Despite the ache within them, her legs moved her quickly back to the living room and she snatched the phone from the bag, glancing at the caller ID as she lifted it up. Her hopes shattered again, when she saw who was calling, a small whimper escaped her, and she dropped onto the sofa before answering.

"Yeah?" she asked on a tired sigh.

The voice on the other end was not who she was expecting. Her eyes widened and her heart began pounding rapidly in her chest as she swept from the sofa – adrenaline making her move.

"Lindsey?" she choked out, her shaking hands holding the phone as close to her ear as possible to confirm that she wasn't imagining it.

"Mom, I know you're working," Lindsey began, speaking to her as if everything was normal – no fear in her voice, only a slight hint of worry. "… and I'm not supposed to call you, but you've got to come round, Mom… She – "

Catherine cut her off, the various pieces she had been given of this puzzle not joining together in her mind. "Lindsey… wh - … where – " Tears were streaming down her face, and so many thoughts – most of which didn't make any sense – were swirling round her head that she could not decide which sentence to form.

She could hear the frown in Lindsey's voice as she quietly asked: "Mom, are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Catherine asked, totally confused.

"Did something happen at work?… Cos Sara's not okay either… Mom she won't stop crying and she keeps saying she's sorry and – "

It was the emotion of anger that beat all others to the front of Catherine's reaction when suddenly two pieces of the puzzle fit together.

"Lindsey! Does Sara know that you've called me? Can you go outside? Go to the end of the street and wait for me there. I'm coming now," she said frantically into the phone, as she searched her bag for her car keys.

"What? Yes she knows… Mom, we can't leave her like this – " Lindsey's shocked voice met her ears.

"Lindsey do as I say!" she demanded, throwing various items onto the sofa as she failed to find her keys.

Lindsey was beginning to sound scared herself. "Mom, what's going on?"

"Has she hurt you?… God if she's hurt you – "

"Who?… Sara?… No she hasn't - … Why would Sara hurt me?… Mom, you're not making any sense – "

"Where the hell are my keys!" Catherine screamed throwing the now empty bag across the room.

"Mom?" Lindsey shouted down the phone, at the same time that Grissom ran back into the living room.

"Catherine?" he asked, terrified by the look on her face.

"Where are my keys?" she yelled at him.

"I don't know," he said, "But your car isn't here… Where are you trying to go?" he asked her quickly.

"To get Lindsey… That bitch – She took her… She's had her all along!"

Whilst Grissom watched, growing increasingly confused and concerned, Catherine returned to the phone call.

"Lindsey, baby, Gil's gonna bring me, we're on our way now… If you can leave… Go to the end of the street!" she repeated her earlier instructions.

"No!" Lindsey insisted. "I'm not leaving her like this… Mom, she's really upset… Why don't you care?" It was clear from her voice that Lindsey was also becoming more upset.

"Baby, right now all I care about is you," Catherine said as she picked up Grissom's car keys and practically dragged him out of the house.

"You're not making sense!" Lindsey shouted angrily. "I'll see you when you get here!" She slammed the phone down.

"Lindsey!… Lindsey!" Catherine screamed into the phone, snapping it shut when it was clear Lindsey had ended the call.

"Cath, what the hell is going on?" Grissom asked as he just managed to make it into the passenger seat of his car before Catherine sped off down the street.

Anger was radiating from her eyes, tears were streaming down her cheeks, and her entire body was visibly shaking. But, what worried him the most was that she wasn't responding to his questions.

Failing to find out where Lindsey was from her, he picked up her cell phone out of her lap, and brought up the received calls list. Upon seeing the last number to have called her, his confused emotion was the same as Catherine's had been.

"Catherine?" he said, his voice sounding his disbelief.

"Move out of the way!" she yelled, sounding the horn at the car in front of them.

He righted himself in his seat, after being thrown sideways as Catherine swerved, first one way and then the other, to avoid traffic, then he returned his attention to her. "Cath… Sara has Lindsey?" he asked, his mind not wanting to believe what seemed to have transpired.

Catherine's grip on the wheel tightened when he said Sara's name, so he took that as an affirmative answer to his question – as the only thing that came from Catherine was more screaming at the slow moving cars.

"What did Lindsey say? Is she hurt?" he tried, needing to get more information to fully comprehend what was happening. "Catherine!" he eventually yelled when she continued to ignore him.

This startled her and she briefly turned to face him. "She said…. She didn't… She…" Her answers trailed off when she realised that what Lindsey had said made very little sense in relation to the circumstances.

Grissom saw confusion cloud past the anger and took the opportunity to gather details. "Did she say it was Sara who took her?"

"She was at Sara's, Gil!… And she seemed to think I was working and she wasn't supposed to contact me," she replied, eyes fixed on the road ahead of her.

"Has Sara hurt her?"

"She said not… But God help me – " She bashed one hand against the steering wheel, and swerved around another vehicle.

"Did she say anything else?"

"Not about herself… She kept talking about Sara… Said she was crying and kept saying she was sorry… Well no amount of apologising will help her when I get there!" she yelled, voice catching at the end of her statement.

Grissom had his own cell phone out of his pocket before Catherine had even finished speaking. Whilst none of it made sense, it was clear Catherine had drawn the conclusion that Sara had taken Lindsey, and, the state she was currently in, they would definitely need back up when they arrived at Sara's apartment.

Brass's confusion equalled Grissom's, but he complied with Grissom's request, and said he would meet them at Sara's home as soon as he could. Grissom thanked him, glanced sideways at Catherine, and reminded him to hurry.

-----

Catherine was out of the car before Grissom had even released his seatbelt, and he had to run up the path to catch her. When words failed to get her to wait, he took hold of her left arm and swung her round to face him – the speed she had been travelling at causing her to almost collide with him.

"Catherine, think this through!" he shouted to be heard over her protests. "Why would Sara take Lindsey?"

"Why would she be at Sara's?" she shouted back.

He conceded that point to her. There didn't seem to be any other explanation. "If you go in there like this you are going to frighten Lindsey! She is your priority Catherine. I'll deal with Sara!" he ordered.

She didn't have time to argue with him, because the door to the building opened, and Lindsey ran outside.

"Mom!" the young girl shouted as she ran over to them.

Tears broke free from Catherine's eyes again, and she scooped her daughter into her arms, hugging her tightly against her, whispering apologies and asking her if she was okay.

Lindsey struggled to pull away, frowning at Catherine with a look of utter confusion. "Mom, I'm fine… What's the matter?… I just called you because Sara's upset… You've got to come quick. She hasn't stopped crying, and she's just curled in a ball rocking backwards and forwards sobbing and muttering that she's sorry, and she didn't mean to hurt anyone. And I don't know what she's talking about… Please, come on!" Lindsey reeled all the information off quickly, and pulled on Catherine's hand to try to lead her towards the apartment, but her mother didn't move.

Catherine glanced uneasily at Grissom, and he could tell from the look in her eyes that she was scared what she might do if she went into that building, and that it was taking a lot of strength to hold herself back.

Grissom acknowledged her fear with a small nod, and turned to Lindsey. "Lindsey, what did Sara tell you about why you're here?" he asked calmly, as Catherine checked the girl over for injuries.

Lindsey swatted Catherine's hands away and turned her frown on Grissom. "She said Mom was working undercover on something, and I was going to stay with her for a couple of days… She told me that my Mom did have her own cell phone with her if I wanted to call her for anything, but I should only do so in an emergency… That's why I called when Sara wouldn't stop crying… What's going on though? Why does no one care that Sara's upset?"

"It's complicated," Grissom told her softly. "Stay out here with your Mom, she'll explain… I'll go and see Sara."

"I want to make sure she's okay," Lindsey said, turning to follow him as he walked past her.

He turned back and placed his hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "I'll make sure she's okay."

"I'm going with you," Lindsey insisted.

"Baby, you need to stay here – " Catherine began, but was cut off when her daughter whipped round to face her.

"How can you be so heartless?" the girl practically screamed. "Just because Sara fancies Grissom as well, you would ignore her when she's upset!"

Catherine's heart broke, and her stance visibly crumbled.

"Lindsey!" Grissom reprimanded from behind her, but it was too late, Lindsey sprinted ahead of them and back into the building.

They both shot after her, Catherine calling her name, and Grissom trying to make sure that he would get to Sara before Catherine did. Unfortunately she was a faster runner than he was.

---

Sara was seated in the middle of her sofa, feet curled up in front of her, arms wrapped tightly around her legs, and she was rocking backwards and forwards as she cried.

Lindsey ran in and went straight over to her, sitting down gently beside her and stroking her hand across Sara's hair. Sara flinched at her touch.

"Sara," she said quietly, "Mom and Grissom are here, they'll help you – " She stopped short when she heard Catherine enter the apartment.

Outside, with her daughter returned to her, Catherine had just about managed to control her rage, but seeing Sara here in front of her, it broke through the surface.

"You fucking bitch!" she screamed, flying at Sara.

Horrified, Lindsey moved, protectively, closer to Sara. "Mom!"

Luckily Grissom managed to grab Catherine before she reached her target, and he pulled her back towards him.

"Cath., you don't want to do this!" he shouted, voice terse, as he fought to keep hold of her.

"Yes I do!" she yelled, pushing him away from her, knocking him off balance, so his grip loosened, and she could head for Sara again.

This time Lindsey stood up, and pushed against Catherine to stop her. "Mom, what are you doing?"

Catherine dodged round Lindsey by stepping over the coffee table, and approached Sara from the other side, managing to grab hold of her and push her backwards, shoving her face into Sara's before Grissom snatched her back.

"Don't you have anything to say!" she screamed at Sara as Grissom tried to break the grip Catherine had around Sara's shirt.

Sara's expression had been unchanged throughout the commotion that had occurred. Her reddened eyes were hollow, and her face was crumpled, as if in pain, and it remained like that even as she was shaken about.

"Catherine!" Grissom pleaded as his hand tried to pry open her fist.

"Say something!" she shrieked, fighting against Grissom with her free hand.

Sara just continued to mutter 'I'm sorry'; tears still pouring down her cheeks.

"Not good enough, Sara!" she yelled. "Not fucking good enough!"

With that she leaned all of her weight forwards towards Sara pulling Grissom over with her, but he managed to regain his balance enough to tuck his body round in front of Catherine's so that she ended up falling on top of him, beside Sara, rather than in her intended place.

Grissom wrapped his arms around her as she broke down. Her adrenaline released through sobs and tears rather than an attack on Sara.

TBC…

_A/N: I feel like I should explain. When I first started writing this, it was my intention that Sara had taken Lindsey because of some crazy jealous feeling, or something. It has taken me so long to get back to updating this because I went off the idea, but it felt wrong, to me, to change the intended direction of the story. So I have spent all these months coming up with a way for Sara to have done it, without it just being because 'she's a psycho' or something anti-Sara like that. There will be more on that in the next chapter._

_After all the lovely reviews I got, praising the way I had written Sara as so sensitive, and mature, and caring, I was almost frightened to post this. That is the exact problem I have had - I seem to want to write Sara nicely. I'm sorry if the story now becomes disappointing, but I started it to take it in this direction, and I feel that I should stay true to that._

_Anyway, before this note becomes longer than the fic - thanks for reading, please do let me know if this has taken a turn for the worse :-)_


	6. Chapter Six

Rating: CSI-3/M  
Everything else: Mastercard.. er.. see chapter one!

Previously: Lindsey went missing from school, turned out Sara had her. We left them as Grissom and Catherine had arrived at Sara's apartment and Catherine had gone for Sara, Grissom just managing to stop her.

Chapter Six

By the time Brass arrived, Grissom had managed to get Catherine to calm down and leave the apartment. She and Lindsey were seated on the stairs, while Grissom hovered in the doorway – from where he could watch both Sara and the reunited mother and daughter.

Catherine was clutching Lindsey's hand protectively in hers – Lindsey had pulled away from the never-ending hug that her mother had tried to hold her in – while the girl frowned at the tension radiating from her Mom and tried to puzzle her way through what was going on.

Brass came up the stairs, followed by two uniformed officers and smiled when he saw Lindsey.

"Hey, kiddo," he said, stopping a few steps down from her so she could see him without having to look up too much.

The other officers moved past them and proceeded into Sara's apartment, Grissom following them to explain the situation.

"Are you okay?" Brass asked Lindsey after she returned his greeting with a smile of her own.

Lindsey frowned again and shook her head. "What's going on? I don't understand why everyone's so mad."

Brass glanced at Catherine, he being as confused as Lindsey.

Catherine smiled – exaggeratedly – at Lindsey while she said: "Baby, I just need to talk to Jim for a second. You stay here, okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Can I go to Sara?"

"No!" Catherine said quickly. "You just wait here. Those officers need to talk to Sara."

Lindsey looked frustrated, but she agreed to do as she was asked, and she leaned her chin on her hands as Catherine kissed her on the forehead before standing up.

She and Brass took a few steps down the corridor, so that Lindsey was out of ear-shot, but still in sight.

"Grissom couldn't tell me much on the phone," Brass said, to prompt Catherine in to explaining.

She sighed. "Yeah. I didn't exactly stop to explain anything to him… Sara had her, Jim," Catherine said, tears welling in her eyes. "She… She'd told her I was working and Lindsey needed to stay with her for a few days… That's why she's so confused. She has no idea that I didn't know she was here… She's just so goddamn concerned about Sara and – "

She stopped as a sob caught in her throat, and Jim stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, the situation not much clearer now that it had been before. But at least he knew why they were here. And he knew that Lindsey was safe.

As the officers brought Sara out of her apartment, Catherine ran back down the corridor, trying to reach Lindsey before they did. However, Lindsey had stood up as soon as she saw the people approaching and was walking to meet them.

"Sara? Are you okay?" she asked. She looked past the young woman and the police when she didn't get a response. "Grissom, why are they taking her?"

Lindsey stepped back as the officers tried to move past her, and Sara whispered, "I'm sorry," as she went by.

Catherine put her hands on Lindsey's shoulders as she reached her and moved her back even further, pulling her close to her body.

"Mom!" Lindsey exclaimed, pulling away. "Why are they taking Sara?"

Catherine bent down to her level. "It's like Grissom said, baby, it's complicated… Jim needs to talk to you before I can explain."

Lindsey glared at her. "And what's gonna happen to Sara?"

Grissom saw Catherine's heart break a little more as her daughter asked about Sara again, and he stepped forward. "Sara's going to the police station as well. Those police officers will look after her."

"Can we go with her?" Lindsey asked.

Catherine pursed her lips to smother a whimper.

"No, honey," Grissom said. "Jim needs to talk to you, and some other people need to talk to Sara."

"But what did she do?" Lindsey yelled, getting more frustrated. "Did she… Did you not know that I was with her?" She turned to Catherine, eyes wide, and expecting an answer.

Catherine glanced at Brass. She knew that the police needed Lindsey's version of events, without anyone having given her additional information. "I'll explain later, sweetie… Let's go to the station with Jim," Catherine said, smiling reassuringly.

"Someone should be with Sara," Lindsey stated – practically demanded – folding her arms across her chest.

"Sara'll be fine!" Catherine snapped, instantly regretting it when Lindsey narrowed her eyes at her.

"She's not fine, Mom. I called you so you could help her – "

Grissom cut off Lindsey's argument before Catherine got any more distressed. "When we get to the station, I'll go with Sara," he said, earning him an enraged glare from Catherine.

"You'll what?" she said through gritted teeth.

In contrast to the rage burning in her mother's, Lindsey's eyes had lit up at his words. "You will?" she asked. "You'll look after her?"

Grissom nodded, trying not to meet Catherine's eyes, but still feeling her rage boring into him. "I will… If she's sick, I'll make sure she gets help, okay?"

Lindsey nodded and threw her arms around Grissom. "Thanks, Grissom."

He forced a small smile and returned the hug, his eyes catching Catherine's as he did so; only for her to shake her head and look away.

"Cath – " he began, but she spoke over him.

"Come on, baby, let's go. Then we can get you home as soon as possible," she said, making sure not to look at Grissom as she stepped forward and took Lindsey's hand. "Jim, could we ride with you?"

Brass glanced at Grissom and then nodded. "Sure."

Catherine inclined her head in thanks and started to walk down the stairs. "We'll wait outside," she said, knowing that Brass was waiting for an officer to stay at Sara's apartment.

After they had watched her walk away Brass looked sideways at the solemn face of Grissom. He considered speaking but couldn't think of anything reassuring to say, so instead they stood in silence until the officer arrived.

-----

Grissom followed Brass's car to the police station, trying his best not to think about the anger and disappointment he had seen in Catherine's eyes.

He tried to focus on the relief he felt that Lindsey was safe; that she hadn't been harmed; and that Catherine wouldn't have to suffer the agonising worry any longer. But the only thing that his mind would concentrate on was that he had caused Catherine further pain.

He knew she was being irrational, but after all she had been through, he also knew she was entitled to be.

-----

"Catherine?" Grissom called, striding to catch up with the group ahead of him in the corridor before they disappeared into separate interview rooms.

She ignored him, as he had expected, however Lindsey did stop walking and, as Catherine was still holding her hand, she was forced to a standstill. She still didn't look at him though.

"Catherine, please?" he asked softly. "I have to do this."

Her head flicked round and the glare he'd seen early hit him again. "Yes you do."

Her expression and tone told him that that was the problem.

"Can we talk?… Please."

"I have nothing to say."

"Then can I talk please, and will you listen?" he asked with a small smile. A smile that usually got him what he wanted, though, on occasions when she was this angry, it had been known to fail.

"Brass needs – "

Brass stepped forward and cut her off. "It'd be better if I talked to Lindsey alone. We'll have a child advocate sit in on the interview… Talk to Gil."

Catherine turned her look of anger on Brass, but clearly didn't have enough resentment towards him to maintain it for long. Softening her expression, she let go of Lindsey's hand, gave her a kiss and a tight hug and promised she would see her soon.

They walked away and she turned, anger back in place, to face Grissom.

"How can you take her side?" she growled through gritted teeth to reduce the volume.

"I'm not taking sides, Catherine – "

"Exactly," she interrupted. "You should be taking mine! She kidnapped my daughter, Gil! How can you even consider defending her!"

"I'm not defending her!"

" 'If she's sick…'" she quoted his words.

"Don't you want to know why she did it?" he frowned.

"No explanation could suffice! She put me through hell… God knows what Lindsey's been through – "

"Lindsey doesn't realise she was kidnapped – "

"But we're going to have to tell her! You saw how concerned she was about Sara, she isn't going to understand."

"Then wouldn't it be better to be able to explain why it happened?"

"We can get that information from Brass, you don't need to go with her – "

"Lindsey asked me to."

"But is that why you're going?"

Grissom was silent, and Catherine stepped towards him, lowering her voice.

"It's always been clear that she had a thing for you… Was it returned?" she asked.

Grissom's eyes twitched with discomfort. "I'm going because I don't understand why she would do this."

"Neither do I, but I have no intentions of running to her side."

"Good. Because your daughter needs you."

"And Sara needs you?" Catherine asked, her tone almost daring him to answer.

"Something isn't right," Grissom replied.

Her eyes locked on his, Catherine nodded. "Yeah… This."

She held his gaze a moment longer, then walked in the direction of the interview rooms.

TBC…


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Well, this fic has been quite literally missing for over 18 months. But here it is. The last chapter, especially for Marg Helgenberger's birthday and the 49 fic challenge over at graveshiftcsi :-)  
A/N2: Thanks to Alza for reading this through for me, and to all who have reminded me that this fic exists :-)

Chapter Seven

Grissom rang the doorbell and then stepped back from the door; waiting patiently, and yet anxiously, for a response. The one that he received was not what he had been expecting.

"Lily," he greeted Catherine's mother with surprise when she opened the door.

Lily gave him a stern, but sympathetic, look and said, "She doesn't want to see you."

Grissom nodded. "I know." He offered her a sad smile, in gratitude to her for at least opening the door to him. He had barely turned to leave when she spoke again though.

"Come in."

He turned back to her, frowning at the invitation.

"She doesn't want to see you," she repeated, "But I know she needs to," she concluded with a small smile.

"Thank you," he said quietly as he walked past her and into Catherine's home.

"She's outside Lindsey's room… If you can persuade her to move from there, Lindsey might sleep better."

Grissom felt his heart breaking at the image of Catherine terrified to leave her daughter's side. Thinking of what she was going through, and then of the pain that had been in her eyes last time they spoke, Grissom paused on his path to her side.

"Maybe it's not a good idea," he said, "My being here'll just – "

"Gil," Lily interrupted him, "She needs to let it all out. Or else she's going to drive Lindsey insane, and she'll make herself ill… She won't cry in front of me – it's a pride thing. Ever since she left home she's been determined to prove that she's strong enough to look after herself… She needs someone to lean on. And for the last twenty years, hasn't that been you?"

"Lily, I – "

"Don't let her push you away… She understands why you did what you did. She just needs to be angry right now. And it's always easier to direct the anger at the people we love the most. Because we know they'll take it, and be there when the anger leaves only pain… Am I wrong?" she asked him with a knowing smile.

Grissom shook his head. "No."

Her smile widened. "Go on… And if you can persuade her to sleep, she really needs that."

Grissom nodded and proceeded through the house in the direction of Lindsey's bedroom. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Catherine leaning against the doorframe, her back to him.

"This had better be good!"

Her voice was quiet but laden with hostility and ice.

"I wanted to see how you are… How's Lindsey?"

"She's asleep."

"Could we talk somewhere where we won't disturb her?"

She turned to face him now, folding her arms across her chest. "I have nothing to say. And no desire to listen to you make excuses for your girlfriend. So we won't be disturbing her."

"Catherine, please," he implored quietly, "We need – "

"Don't presume to know what I need!" She kept her voice low, but there was no mistaking the venom it carried.

"Well, judging by the way your eyes are drooping, I'd say you need sleep," he pointed out, deliberately provoking her anger.

He watched her face tighten and she glared at him for several seconds before growling, "Go to hell," and she returned to leaning in the doorway to Lindsey's room.

"No," he stated firmly, approaching to stand beside her.

She whipped round to face him, eyes burning with hatred, and brimming with tears. "No?" she ground out through clenched teeth.

He nodded. "No… I'm not going anywhere."

She glared at him seconds longer; her breathing deepening, her eyes narrowing, and he could see her mind searching for something to say to him. Her hands fisted by her sides, her features tightened, a tear crept down her cheek, and he just waited: knowing what was coming.

A few seconds more, and she folded her arms across her chest protectively, then she swallowed hard, and opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing but a squeak came out. She clamped her lips shut as if reprimanding them for letting her down, but then, as tears streamed down her cheeks, her hold on herself tightened and she crumbled forwards into his embrace.

He rubbed one hand soothingly up and down her back, and the other threaded into her hair, gently massaging her neck as she wept into his shirt.

"It's okay," he soothed, softly, holding her close to him, rocking her gently.

"I'm sorry," she muttered from against his chest.

"Shh," he responded, pressing his lips to her temple. "You don't need to be sorry… But you do need to rest."

She shook her head forcefully, pulling away from him, as if fearful that he could force her to move. "I can't leave her."

"Catherine," he said, quietly, tenderly cupping her face with both of his hands so that she would focus on him. "Lindsey needs to rest too. Your Mom's here, I'm here, you're here. Lindsey will be fine… We're just gonna go to your room so you can lie down. You're exhausted."

"I can't, Gil – "

"You can," he interrupted her. "And I'm here to help you."

Her bloodshot eyes stared at him for a moment, as if she was deciding whether or not to trust him, and then she nodded slowly, whispering, "Okay."

Grissom smiled reassuringly, and took her hand to lead her along the corridor to her room. He could see in the corner of his eye that she kept glancing back towards Lindsey's room, but as long as she was walking, he kept going.

She hesitated in the doorway, about to lose sight of her daughter's room completely. He gave a gentle squeeze on the hand he held and she turned her head to face him.

"It's okay," he assured her. "Just lie down for an hour, then I'll wake you and you can check on her again."

She nodded once more and preceded him into the room, walking slowly towards the bed, as if in a daze. She perched on the edge, and her fingers gripped the blanket either side of her, and she looked up at him with heartbroken eyes.

"Why did she do it?" she asked, in a quiet voice cracked with devastation.

He sat down next to her on the bed, but she kept her eyes trained forward as he explained.

"She didn't say a lot. She kept saying she was sorry; that she hadn't realised the pain it would cause – "

A disbelieving scoff met his ears at this, but as she didn't speak, he continued.

"She said she just wanted to make you see how lucky you are. To make you realise that Lindsey should be the most important thing in your – "

"Lindsey is the most important thing in my life!" she exclaimed, glaring at him from beneath moist eyelashes.

"I know," he said, leaning forwards to take her hand in his. "I know… But Sara's sick, Cath, she – "

She was glaring at him again.

"… I'm not defending her. I have never wanted to defend her. I wanted to understand how she could do this. Why she would do this…"

"And do you understand now?... Because I don't think I ever will."

"I understand that she needs help…"

"She's never liked me."

"That's not true."

Catherine let out another disbelieving laugh. "She's been jealous of me from day one. Because of my friendship with you… I take it you didn't know of her mental instability when you – "

"Catherine…"

"Sorry… Of course you didn't know. None of us knew." She pressed a fist against her forehead. "God, Gil why did none of us see this coming? Why didn't we know she was capable of – " Her voice broke on a sob, and Gil wrapped her in his arms, pulling her to rest on him.

"Things have happened in her past that she's never spoken to us about…" he told her as he held her. "She told Brass that a daughter deserves a mother who's there for her; who puts her first. It wasn't to do with you. And as soon as she saw how distraught you were, she broke down."

"Lindsey doesn't understand," she stated, pulling back from him slightly, but still maintaining a hold round his waist. "How can I explain it to her when I don't - … When it - … When I can't believe that it really happened?... Sara, Gil. Sara took my daughter to make me suffer. How is Lindsey supposed to trust my friends again? How am I – "

"Hey," he stopped her, cupping her face again, wiping at her tears with the tips of his thumbs. "Lindsey is a strong little girl. She's just like her Mom. You will both get past this. It will take time; but you've got each other, and you will work through this."

She nodded, his hands moving with her head, before she leaned into his right hand and closed her eyes. "Tell me I'll wake up to find it was all just a nightmare," she whispered.

He gently stroked her cheek and wished that he could tell her that and it be the truth. It broke his heart to know he couldn't.

Before he had managed to think of something to say that wouldn't increase her pain, Catherine released a heavy sigh, and her eyes fluttered open, finding his immediately and conveying the seriousness of what she was about to say.

"What's happening with Sara?" she asked him, solemnly.

"She'll be charged. But I don't think she'll be fit to stand trial," he told her, honestly.

She nodded again. "At least Lindsey won't have to go through that then…" she muttered softly.

She sighed again and moved her head back from his hands as she rose from her seat, pacing a couple of steps across the room. "I feel sick, Gil…" she told him, stopping and turning to face him. "I want to hate her. I do hate her… But I also feel appalled that she must have been suffering and none of us noticed. We were supposed to be her friends, Gil. We should have known something was wrong. We should have stopped this before it happened. One of us should have noticed something! I should have noticed something! I should be able to protect my daughter, Gil…"

As her speech became faster and more frantic, and the tears started down her cheeks again, Gil swept to her side and enveloped her in his arms.

"Lindsey's safe, Cath," he assured her. "It's over."

He held for a few more seconds, feeling her calm down against him, then he pulled her back so he could see her face.

"You need to be strong for Lindsey," he reminded her. "She's going to be even more confused before she can even begin to comprehend what really happened. You have to show her that it's in the past, and she has nothing to fear."

She nodded. "I know. It's just… knocked me of balance, I – "

"I know," he said reassuringly. "And that's what I'm here for… You be strong for Lindsey. And when she's sleeping, I'll be strong for you."

A small smile crept across her trembling lips and she nodded once more. "Thank you," she whispered.

He returned the smile. "There's no need… Now, sleep!"

He was relieved to hear her manage a short burst of laughter at his instruction.

"Yes, sir," she responded.

"Good," he smiled, watching her walk back to the bed and lie down. "I'll be back in an hour to wake you. And I will be able to tell if you haven't slept."

Catherine rolled her eyes and settled her head into her pillow, and Gil offered her a comforting smile as he stepped out of the room and began pulling the door closed behind him.

"Gil - "

He paused in his actions and stuck his head round the part-open door. "I will check on Lindsey on my way past," he promised.

A shy smile caressed Catherine's lips and she softly whispered, "Thank you."

Grissom nodded, and closed the door.

Keeping his promise, he stopped outside the open door of Lindsey's bedroom, and looked at the sleeping child. She looked peaceful and content and mixed feelings rushed his system. Relief that she was safe and unharmed came first; and then a deep churning in his stomach as he thought about how they would explain it all to her.

He knew he shared all of Catherine's fears, but he also knew that what both Willows women needed from him was strength, so he would be there whenever they needed him. It was a complicated situation, and it would take time for Catherine and Lindsey to work through it. But they would get there, because they were back together. And that was all that mattered.

THE END


End file.
